LAKELAND, Fla. -- Spencer Turnbull had a hard time controlling his fastball in his three-plus innings of Friday afternoon’s 9-0 Tigers loss to the Phillies at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium.

“I was off today but [I] battled through it,” Turnbull said after three-plus innings and his first run allowed this spring. “Mechanics, command, [it] just wasn’t the same today. I mean, I threw some fastballs that looked like Blitzballs.”

His emotions are another matter.

Turnbull made his winter home in Nashville, where he did offseason workouts at a specialized facility. When he heard about the tornadoes that struck the city earlier this week, he thought of his old neighbors and his church and he made some calls. The news was frightening.

Some of Turnbull’s friends lost their homes. Some narrowly escaped with their lives after the storms woke them from their sleep and sent debris flying into their buildings.

“The place that I stayed in got hit by the tornado,” Turnbull said. “It is still standing, just had some roof damage, but a lot of the buildings around it were destroyed.”

Similar news affected Casey Mize, Detroit’s No. 1 prospect, who bought a home in Nashville and moved there with his wife.

“My neighborhood was directly affected,” Mize said. “Luckily, my house was not affected, but the end of my street took a lot of damage. It’s very close to my heart because it’s [affected] places that I go eat at, places that I drive through every day. I’m literally walking distance to most of the damage.

“It’s tough, but I’m going to help in any way I can and try to advocate for other people to do the same.”

Turnbull, too, is trying to help the relief effort, working through Zeal Church to try to raise money for a mobile relief vehicle. He’s also encouraging donations through relief organizations.

“Nashville’s found a special place in my heart already,” Turnbull said. “I loved living there this offseason. I plan for it to be my offseason home. It hit near my heart. I had several friends that slept through or were awoken by the tornado as it hit. None of my friends lost their lives, thank God, but a lot of them, their apartments got destroyed.”

Burrows optioned, Robson reassigned
Beau Burrows’ mechanical work will continue this spring on the Minor League side. The Tigers optioned the 2015 MLB Draft first-round pick to Triple-A Toledo as part of their first set of roster moves on Friday.

Outfielder Jacob Robson, who has been in concussion protocol since taking a foul ball off his head in the dugout Feb. 22, was reassigned to Minor League camp. The moves whittle the Detroit’s Spring Training roster to 67 players.

Burrows hasn’t pitched in a game since the Tigers’ Grapefruit League opener on Feb. 22, when he gave up five runs on four hits in two-thirds of an inning. He has been working with coaches on his mechanics.

“He says he’s not hurting at all, but he just lost his mechanics and got all screwed up,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Now, it’s about just figuring it out and finding it, because obviously he wasn’t throwing the ball right here. That’s all.”

Gardenhire said the Tigers haven’t decided whether Burrows will be a starter or reliever, either in the long term or more immediately with the Mud Hens.

“We like him as a starter,” Gardenhire said, “but ultimately, I think in the end, it would probably be bullpen. We think he could be one of those power arms out of the bullpen. But that’s not a given. That’s just a thought process for the future, with all the starters that we have.”

Tandem start
Two members of the projected Tigers rotation will pitch in Saturday’s game against the Twins in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. While it’s Daniel Norris’ day to pitch, Ivan Nova wanted the opportunity to pitch in his native country.

It’s his bullpen day, so instead of his usual between-starts side session, he’ll throw an inning in the game.

“I told [Gardenhire] I want to pitch in that game,” Nova said. “I didn’t plan it to be a bullpen day. But from Day 1, I told them I wanted to pitch [there].”

Norris, too, is familiar with the Dominican, having previously pitched winter ball there. He’s looking forward to returning, even if it’s just for a brief trip. And yes, the coffee connoisseur plans to bring back some local caffeine options for the clubhouse.

"For sure," Norris said. "I'm going to bring [back] pounds of it."